Am I the only one who finds this kind of thing totally creepy? First ... like I'm really supposed to believe Torre was going to quit. Yeah, right. But that's not the creepy part. The creepy part is where Torre doesn't ask to be treated like an adult, doesn't ask to be managed by adults, doesn't ask for some basic respect and professionalism to be observed in the highest offices of the organization. What does he ask for? Warmth. Approval. Acceptance. Daddy was a boorish drunk, so Torre wants Steinbrenner's approval. And after one friendly meeting, he wipes years of misbehavior out of his memory, dismissing it in the style of an abused spouse, and pretends that everything will be fine now. Yikes. Can we all recoil together on this?
I find it all so disturbing that it's hard to really love it, even as a devoted Yankees hater. Look, it takes an incredibly dysfunctional organization to spend $208 million and only win 95 games. (I don't want to hear about injuries and bad breaks. Every team has injuries and bad breaks.) And Cashman appears to be caught up in it, too. I'm sure somewhere in his head he's thinking, "there's only one Yankees." But the sad truth is, nobody will ever know if Cashman is any good at his job unless he leaves. The good news for Yankees haters is, if Torre and Cashman both stick around for more punishment, Steinbrenner will have no reason to change, and that will continue to cost them on the field.
In only slightly related news, Jim Caple rips into A-Rod and Vlad. I was going to say it's unfair, but it isn't.
And finally, just to taunt us: Manny still loves Cleveland.